Secret Admirer
by supremegreendragon
Summary: Jounouchi gets a love letter, but Kaiba's not jealous. Nope, definitely not jealous. But what happens when this admirer reveals himself to be a bit...crazy?
1. Chapter 1

"Your move, Jounouchi," Yugi stated. The tri-colored haired boy suddenly scowled, causing Jounouchi to lean back in his chair.

"What did I do? You look angry all of the sudden."

Yugi snapped out of it. His lips spread into a large, unconvincing smile.

"Oh! Sorry, Jounouchi-kun. Yami was just saying something."

"He was telling you what to play again, wasn't he?"

"Yep."

Yami had been annoying Yugi lately. Jounouchi didn't know exactly what was going on with the two, but he had an idea that a lot of it was Yami being overprotective. It wasn't that Yugi didn't appreciate his help. It was more that Yugi wanted to prove he could fight his own battles sometimes.

Jounouchi laughed with his friend, knowing that Yami must have been glaring at him by now. The blonde suddenly felt a presence behind his back.

"What an odd way to play with your dog, Motou."

Jounouchi glared at the CEO behind him

"Fuck off, Kaiba! No one invited you to this."

The brunette gave him that stare again. The one that pissed him off. The one that stated how stupid Jounouchi was being.

"I go to class here, moron. And I'm not going to leave just because you barked at me."

Jounouchi threw his cards down, then stood up to face the brunette.

"Then go back to your seat. Just sit down and count your money somewhere else."

"A bit hurt that some of us have jobs, mutt?" Kaiba retorted.

They forgot all about Yugi until he spoke.

"Um…guys, we don't need to fight in class. We'll get in trouble…remember?"

Kaiba's icy blue eyes darted toward Yugi.

"I don't need your advice, Motou. Stop acting like you know better than me."

Jounouchi took that opportunity to strike with a vicious retort.

"Of course he does! How many times has Yugi beaten you? A million?"

"Jounouchi-kun, that's not-" but Yugi was cut off by Kaiba.

"He's not the one that beat me. The spirit did all the work. He just got the credit."

Pause. Jounouchi turned to his tri-colored friend. Yugi's mouth was wide open in a horrified gasp. The blonde scowled at the CEO. That was a low blow. But Kaiba wasn't finished.

"And besides, by that logic, then I know more than you, mutt. You've never won against me."

Jounouchi glared but couldn't think of a retort. Kaiba smirked and walked toward his chair.

"Face it. Neither of you can duel against anybody without help from that spirit."

Yugi stared in horror at something Jounouchi couldn't see. Jounouchi had a feeling that Yami was getting pissed off now and that Yugi was worried how far the spirit would go in his anger. The small teen suddenly shot out of his seat.

"I'll be right back, Jounouchi-kun."

Yugi left in a flash. Kaiba laughed.

Class started a few minutes later. This time, Yami was out of the puzzle and he was giving Kaiba his coldest glare. Jounouchi wondered if he had forced his way out. The blonde realized that was what most likely happened.

Anzu looked worried. Whenever Yami came out of school, that meant that the spirit felt the need to protect Yugi. Jounouchi sent her a smile to let her know that everything was okay. While he was doing that, his eyes caught Kaiba's. The CEO arched a brow, so Jounouchi looked away. He wasn't smiling at _him._

"Class, today we have a new student. Please welcome Takeo Yamada."

The student coming in was about Jounouchi's height, but he had the innocent face of Yugi. Takeo glanced shyly around the room before his eyes locked onto Jounouchi's. The new student smiled at him. Not knowing what else to do, Jounouchi sent a hesitant smile back.

"Tell us something about yourself," the teacher requested.

"Hello everyone. I hope I won't trouble any of you. Um…I like taiyaki."

Kaiba snorted like that was a stupid introduction. Jounouchi couldn't see why the brunette would think that. He liked taiyaki too.

"Take a seat."

Takeo sat in front of Jounouchi, giving the blonde of view of his neck. He was shocked to see some sort of tattoo on it, but it was largely covered up by his hair, so Jounouchi didn't know what the tattoo was of.

After class ended, Takeo turned to Jounouchi.

"Hey. Did you understand the English lesson at all?"

"Uh…" was somebody actually asking Jounouchi for help with schoolwork? "No, I didn't."

"Yeah. Asking Jounouchi for help isn't the best thing to do. He's not very smart," Honda stated.

The blonde glared at his best friend.

"Like you can talk, Honda!"

Takeo blinked in confusion. Jounouchi turned to see that Yami and Kaiba were whispering to each other. Whatever they were saying was obviously upsetting the other.

"Um…Jounouchi," but Takeo couldn't finish what he was about to say. Jounouchi suddenly stood up and walked over to his ancient Egyptian friend.

"Hey Yam. Come to the arcade with us."

Anzu came forward, "That's a great idea! We can see if Honda can get that doll he's been aiming for."

Honda blushed, "It's not for me. It's for Shizuka-chan."

Jounouchi's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. He hated that his friend and Otogi were still going after his sister.

The gang was trying to get Yami away from Kaiba. The last time that the two fought, Yugi had been so upset. Yami no doubt knew what their intentions were, but he took the bait anyway.

"Of course."

The next day passed by without incident. Well, except for Kaiba insulting Jounouchi a little more, but that was nothing new. He and Yugi were putting on their shoes when Jounouchi found something in his locker. Curious, the blonde took it out.

And gasped when he saw the heart-shape symbol on it.

Yugi turned to him.

"What's wrong?"

Flustered, Jounouchi hid the card behind his back.

"Eh…eh nothing. I just remembered I gotta be somewhere. I'll see you later Yug."

"Huh? Jounouchi-kun."

The blonde left his friends staring after him. Once he was at a safe enough distance, he opened it.

 _Dear Katsuya,_

 _When I first saw you, my heart skipped a beat. I've never seen eyes as golden amber as yours. The sun would be jealous of your smile's radiance. You may not know me, but I know you. I know you like Duel Monsters, so I'm getting into it too. I hope we can play with each other one day. Forgive me if I'm not very good._

 _Yours truly,_

 _Your secret admirer._

Jounouchi never received a love letter before. He felt like the luckiest guy in the world. Some girl liked him so much that she was practicing Duel Monsters just for the chance to play with him?

Who could it be? Was she cute? Was she someone from his class? Jounouchi was practically skipping his way home, happy that somebody liked him.

He bumped into something solid and nearly fell on his ass.

"Watch where you're going!"

That voice. Uh oh. It was Bakura's dark side. The man had gotten hold of his letter and was reading it. The thief laughed.

"Somebody's stupid enough to fall for you?"

"What the hell? I thought you guys were sick? Don't tell me you forced Ryou to play hooky again."

"Alright. I won't tell you."

Jounouchi glared at the man. Ryou was going to have a lot of problems if he couldn't control his dark side. At least the thief was no longer trying to take over the world (for now).

Yami Bakura looked at the letter and laughed again. It pissed Jounouchi off.

"This is the funniest thing I have ever seen. I wonder what that rich boy would say if he saw this."

Jounouchi paused.

"Who? Kaiba. He wouldn't care."

Bakura's eyes leered at him. That was pretty scary. Jounouchi wished he didn't do that.

"Really?"

"Of course not," Jounouchi insisted, "Why would he?"

The thief simply shrugged. He was silent for a while, then Bakura turned to glare at where Ryou assumedly was. They were talking to each other via mind-link. Jounouchi hated it when people did that. He had no idea what argument they were having.

Bakura's glare turned harsher, making Jounouchi worried for his friend. He decided to get the yami's mind off of his hikari.

"So, can I have the letter back? You had your fun."

Bingo. Bakura's attention was back on him, but now the glare was aimed in Jounouchi's direction. It was a pretty chilling gaze too. Ryou would owe him one later.

The thief gripped at the letter tightly.

"Why do you want it back so badly? Are you thinking of meeting this mysterious admirer?"

Jounouchi felt his face grow hot. Bakura laughed again. While Bakura blocked Jounouchi's path, the blonde's friends had time to catch up. Fuck his life.

Yami glared once he saw the thief in front of Jounouchi.

"What are you doing here, Tomb Raider?"

Bakura stopped laughing when he realized who was in the vicinity. He glowered at the pharaoh. Thrusting the letter back in Jounouchi's hands, Bakura walked closer to Yami.

"Oh. I see I'm not the only dark spirit that decided to walk out in the open."

"You're the only dark spirit here," Honda glowered.

"Well…aside from Malik's," Anzu hesitantly corrected.

Honda blushed in embarrassment. Yami's glare was getting hot enough to melt a bolder. He had already been angry enough at Kaiba. Jounouchi was worried that all this rage would be bad for his blood pressure.

"We're more different than you think, Bakura. Yugi actually consents to me taking over from time to time. I doubt Ryou wanted you to take him away from his studies."

Now it was Bakura's turn to glare. Jounouchi inwardly sighed. This day had started out so normal. The letter had promised the rest of the day to be nice. Why did two bickering yamis have to spoil his fun?

"So what? I'm doing him a favor. Ryou doesn't need school anyhow."

"Of course he does. Ryou loves school," Jounouchi cried out. Big mistake. Bakura's eyes were now on him and they looked full of hinted threats. Jounouchi gulped.

"By the way, Pharaoh. Did you know that this friend of yours got a love letter?"

 _Fuck you, Bakura._ Jounouchi glared with bright red cheeks. Honda gasped.

"What? No way!"

"You're the so called King of Games and this loser gets a love letter first. How pathetic is that?" Bakura laughed.

"I have no need for love letters. And I'm happy for Jounouchi-kun."

"So, you're not jealous?" Bakura pressed on.

"Why should I be?"

The thief simply shrugged.

"I suppose you're right there. Maybe you know better than to let some useless words get you flustered, unlike this mongrel here," he pointed at Jounouchi with his thumb, "Or maybe you feel no need for love letters. Since the love of your life is always with you."

The gang fell into a silence as Bakura laughed and walked away. Yami stared down with an expression that Jounouchi couldn't quite pinpoint.

Suddenly, Honda was right in front of him.

"Why didn't you tell us about the letter?"

Oh shit. Before Jounouchi could retort, Honda grabbed the letter and read it. Anzu came closer.

"What's it say?"

"Oh man. Whoever this chic is, she loves Jounouchi's golden amber eyes," Honda chuckled.

"Could it be a man?" Anzu asked.

"No way…Well…maybe," Honda responded.

Jounouchi hadn't thought of it before, but the writer could be a man. Somehow that made him even more embarrassed to show his friends the letter. He took it out of Honda's hands.

"Will you two stop? Eh…Yami, what are you doing out?" he asked just to take the gang's attention away from the note.

But the person in front of him was Yugi. The smaller boy looked very sour.

"When Yami saw Bakura, he forced me back inside. As if I couldn't handle it myself," he grumbled, "You did too!"

He obviously spoke that last sentence to the spirit. Yugi sounded unusually angry, causing the rest of the group to feel awkward. They didn't like it when those two fight.

Despite that incident, Jounouchi went to bed with a smile on his face. It was good to feel love like this every once in a while.

But what the hell did Bakura mean when he spoke of Kaiba? Kaiba wouldn't be jealous just because Jounouchi got a love letter. Hell, he was a CEO, so he surely had many people writing him love letters all the time.

Jounouchi dreamed of who his secret admirer could possibly be.


	2. Chapter 2

Jounouchi was on cloud nine when he went to put his shoes in his locker and found another note inside. This time, Anzu and Honda were ready.

"What's it say now?" Honda asked.

"Let me see," Anzu pleaded.

The flustered blonde prevented his friends from making a grab for it. With a red face, he read the note in silence.

 _Dear Katsuya,_

 _I know it was just last evening that I wrote to you last, but I needed to contact you again. Every day without seeing your face is a day wasted. You make me whole. I want to reveal myself, but I'm too embarrassed of what to say._

 _You know what? I have video footage of some of the card games you played in tournaments. They were all wonderful. You were very funny when you were dueling Ryota Kajiki. Other people acted annoyed, but you made me laugh the entire time. I'm glad there are people like you that live to put smiles on everyone's faces._

 _Oh! I heard you like Capsule Monsters too. That's good, because I know a little more about that than Duel Monsters. Maybe we can play one day. I have a whole gaming area where we can play._

 _Yours Truly,_

 _Your Secret Admirer_

Despite his best efforts, Anzu and Honda got a hold of his love letter. Anzu was practically blushing as she read it.

"Wow. Girl or boy, this person is romantic. I would never have seen Jounouchi's attempts at being funny as a way of making everyone smile. This person is infatuated with you. You're so lucky."

"Dammit, why can't I write like that? Shizuka would totally choose me over Otogi if I could," Honda looked sad.

Jounouchi was sure his face was a deep crimson by now. Yugi suddenly showed up and Jounouchi thanked his lucky stars. This would be the perfect opportunity to get the other two to stop thinking about his admirer.

"Morning, Yug. Ready for another boring day of school work?"

The boy looked startled, then turned to his friends like he just realized they were there.

With a deep frown, he said, "Huh? Oh yeah. Of course."

"What's wrong?" Anzu asked in concern. Yugi shook his head.

"Yami's not talking to me. I think I upset him. I didn't mean to."

"What?" Jounouchi was shocked. He thought Yugi was the one mad at the pharaoh, not vice versa.

"What happened?" Honda asked.

Yugi looked down in shame.

"Well…I yelled at him."

Anzu came closer and placed her hand on his shoulder, her eyes filled with support and worry. Whenever two of the gang fought, she was the one they most likely turned to for advice.

"I'm sure you didn't mean to hurt him. What happened to make you yell at him?"

Yugi's shoulders tensed up.

"He…well he wanted me to clean my room. And eat my vegetables. And do homework before watching television. I got really upset that he was treating me like a child, so I told him so. He said he wasn't and I said…I said…" he trailed off, looking guiltier than he ever had in his life.

Before the others could press for more information, Kaiba suddenly appeared. He looked at Yugi.

"Motou. You _are_ going to the competition, right?"

The others stared at the CEO. He looked at them in shock.

"Don't tell me you don't know."

"Don't know what, Kaiba-san?" Yugi asked.

"There's a Capsule Monster tournament being held in Domino in a few days. Why don't you ever keep up with this kind of news? Or does your spirit do all the work in that department as well?"

"Fuck off, Kaiba. Yugi and Yami work together," Jounouchi said.

Blue eyes gave him a chilling stare that would shut most people up. Not Jounouchi. It never worked on Jounouchi.

"Of course you vouch for him. You're more pathetic than he is. Face it. If he does win, it will only be because of the spirit."

Yugi was horrified and obviously hurt. Jounouchi couldn't take seeing such a look on his friend's face. He was so pissed off that he spoke without thinking.

"How much you wanna bet?"

Kaiba arched an eyebrow.

"Bet what?"

"If Yugi wins without Yami's help, you have to give him 20,000 yen."

"Jounouchi-kun!"

The blonde wasn't listening. He was staring too deeply into Kaiba's eyes and was happy to note that he must have caught the brunette's interest. Good.

"He won't even have the puzzle with him. It will just be you and Yugi."

"And if I win?" Kaiba asked.

Jounouchi took a moment to think. What would Kaiba possibly want?

"Um…my Red Eyes."

"I don't give a rat's ass about that card."

That stung. That was Jounouchi's special card.

"Alright, bastard? What do you want?"

"Nothing a loser like you can get me," Kaiba was walking away. No! Jounouchi had to prove his friend's skills. He wouldn't let him go.

Time to go the Otogi route.

"If you win, I'll do whatever you say for a week!"

He blurted it out without thought. Once the words were spoken, he wished he had never said anything in the first place.

His friends stared at him in horror. Yugi looked the most horrified of all. Meanwhile, Kaiba had paused in his tracks. The brunette slowly turned around, his face revealing nothing.

"Make it a month and you got yourself a deal."

"You're on!"

"JOUNOUCHI!" Yugi cried.

"I expect to see you at the tournament, Motou. If you're not, then I win the bet by default. See you, losers."

With that, Kaiba left. Jounouchi had a bad feeling that he just messed up big time. By the way his friends were looking at him, they agreed that he fucked up.

They barely spoke to each other until after school. Yugi stomped towards him.

"Why did you do that this morning?"

Yugi had been avoiding him all day, but it seemed they could no longer ignore the elephant in the room. Jounouchi placed a hand behind his head.

"He was talking smack. I couldn't let that happen."

"So you risk a month of servitude for 20,000 yen? 20,000 freaking yen?"

"You think I could have asked for more?"

"JOUNOUCHI-KUN!"

The others came up at this point. This time Ryou was with them.

"I heard about the bet. Yugi, does your yami know?"

A flash of concern crossed through Yugi's features. The tri-colored hair boy shook his head sadly.

"You better let him know," Honda advised, "He's going to find out sooner or later. It better be you to tell him about Jounouchi's dumbass mistake."

Jounouchi scowled.

"Was I really supposed to let Kaiba say those things?"

Anzu turned to him with a face flushed in anger, "That would have been better than this."

"Give me a second."

With that, Yugi closed his eyes like he was in a trance. Honda turned to Jounouchi.

"You're going to get so much hell when Yami finds out."

"You watch, Honda. Yami will be totally supportive. This way, Yugi will show Kaiba he can beat him without any help at all."

They waited in silence for Yugi to respond with the pharaoh's message. Suddenly, Takeo showed up, grinning at Jounouchi.

"I was wondering if—" But he was cut off by Yami's booming voice.

"Jounouchi! Is what Yugi told me true?"

Uh oh. Yami was now in control, and if looks could kill, Jounouchi would already be dead on the floor. The pharaoh's glare practically screamed how much he wanted to kill Jounouchi right now. Even Anzu took a step back from him, and she was normally the least afraid when someone went on a rampage.

"Um…Yam…"

"Don't you 'Yam' me, Jounouchi. What do you mean that Yugi must not take the puzzle with him to this tournament? He should always do so. Otherwise, it'd be reckless!"

"But Yam, Yug will have us."

"But he won't have me."

The gang suddenly felt awkward at how possessive the spirit sounded. Yami, seeing how his words were scaring them, softened his expression.

"Forgive me. But it was foolish of you to bet that with Kaiba without talking to Yugi or me about it."

"I'm sorry. You're right about that."

"I don't want Yugi to leave the puzzle," Yami's voice sounded almost pleading now. It was kind of heart-wrenching to hear.

Anzu took that moment to strike with a solution.

"Then let one of us hold it while he plays. If there's trouble, we'll hand it right back to him so you can take over. It will be fine, Yami."

Yami considered her words. He gave Jounouchi one last, semi-hard look.

"It seems to be our only solution."

Without warning, the spirit sank back in and Yugi was in his place. The small teen blinked like he didn't know what was going on.

"He did it again! He pushed me into the puzzle again," he cried in anger.

Suddenly remembering Takeo, Jounouchi turned to greet the new student. However, Takeo was nowhere in sight. Must have gotten scared off by Yami, he figured.

Kaiba came forward, suitcase in tow. He took a long look at all of them.

"Aren't you morons supposed to be getting ready for the tournament? Or do you already accept defeat?"

Jounouchi was so angry that he threw open his locker. The sooner he had on his shoes, the sooner he could kick Kaiba's ass.

The force in which he opened the locker door caused a stray letter to fly out. It fluttered like a stray feather, before landing by Kaiba's feet. The heart-shape symbol was showing.

Jounouchi could only stare in horror as the curious CEO began to read it. It had been bad enough that Bakura laughed at this, but Jounouchi couldn't take hearing Kaiba get a kick out of his embarrassment.

But the brunette didn't laugh. His face remained as stone cold as normal. Tossing the letter on the floor, Kaiba made his way outside. He didn't say anything.

Everyone stared in silent shock. Even Yugi, who had been angry before, could only gaze with his mouth open. Finally, Anzu turned to Jounouchi.

"I guess he's jealous."

Later that day, Jounouchi found himself in the park by himself. He opened the letter.

 _Dear Katsuya,_

 _Did you know there's going to be a capsule monsters tournament? I would love to meet you there. Maybe we can get to know each other more._

 _Will I finally feel your lips on mine?_

 _I know you'll probably beat me if we ever play against each other. But I'm not worried about that. I love watching you win, even if it's against me. I don't care about winning. As long as you're smiling._

 _We'll see each other soon, alright? During the tournament, I promise I'll reveal myself. I just can't wait._

 _Forever yours,_

 _Secret Admirer_

Jounouchi hadn't played capsule monsters in forever, but now he really wanted to join the tournament. His secret admirer really wanted to meet him. Jounouchi wanted to meet the admirer too. It felt so good to be loved like this.

Of course, there was always the chance that this wouldn't work out. The admirer might get sick of Jounouchi or something else could probably happen. Jounouchi wasn't harboring too much hope that he'll find his soulmate at the tournament.

But it would be fun to learn more about the author of these notes. If nothing else, Jounouchi was sure they could be friends.


	3. Chapter 3

Jounouchi had a guide book in his hands. Studying up should give him an advantage in the upcoming tournament. He took a glance at a page, then made his move. Yugi's purple eyes darted to where he positioned his plant monster, then attacked with a monster of a higher level. Jounouchi lost the duel.

Jounouchi slapped his own forehead, "Oh, man! I'm an idiot. I totally saw that move coming right when I couldn't do anything about it. Ahh! I shouldn't have done that."

Honda sighed, frowning deeply as his best friend's antics fell short. Then the spiky haired brunette smiled in relief.

"Well, at least this looks good for Yugi. But maybe he should duel somebody that's actually a challenge."

"Can it, Honda," the blonde barked.

Anzu turned to Yugi.

"Have you tried dueling against Yami?" she asked.

It was an innocent question, yet it seemed that Yugi was hesitant to answer. The star-shaped teen averted his gaze.

"Well, I asked, but he waved me off. He was more worried about me leaving for the tournament without him. He seems confident that I'll beat Kaiba."

Anzu frowned in concern, "He won't even train with you?"

Yugi looked away, his face revealing nothing, "Nope."

"See, Honda? Yami believes in him," Jounouchi stated, taking this news as something positive.

"Or maybe he figures that if you do become Kaiba's slave, it will be your own fault," Honda retorted.

That was a dick thing to say. Jounouchi was angry enough to punch his friend out. Anzu sensed this and decided to change the topic.

"How does the tournament work this time? Do you have to collect some sort of star chip again?"

Yugi smiled in relief, happy that her quick thinking defused the situation. He hated it when the two males fought.

"Nope. Just numbers."

"Numbers?"

Yugi held up a figurine of a monster.

"See how these are all from 1 to 5? Once you get to level five, you're in the finals."

A new voice suddenly rang out, "Which is where you better be, Motou, if you know what's good for you."

The gang turned from their desks to see where Kaiba stood. Yugi gulped, looking a lot more nervous that usual. Did Jounochi unintentionally add pressure with his bet? The blonde teen almost regretted making the bet.

The CEO looked right at Yugi, not once acknowledging Jounouchi's presence.

"I have to say, Yugi. I hope you win at least once. It would be a shame if you lost your dog on the first round."

Yugi glared.

"Jounouchi-kun's my friend."

Jounouchi stood up with a fist raised at the CEO's direction.

"Yeah. And besides, Kaiba. How do you know I won't beat your ass in this tournament?"

The brunette finally turned to the blonde, his eyebrows arching upwards.

"You're actually competing?"

Anger flashed in his chest like a bullet. Jounouchi was so pissed off that he started flailing his arms in the air. God, he was so pissed!

"Of course I am, you jerk! Why wouldn't I?"

"I thought you wanted Motou to win."

Jounouchi took a gulp of air to calm himself down ever so slightly.

"He will. I'm sure of that. But that doesn't mean I won't give it my all. I'm gonna show you how good I am at games."

The CEO cracked up laughing. Like all this was a joke to him. The gang glowered at the brunette as Kaiba continued to find Jounouchi's determination hilarious.

"I'll be rooting for you, Jounouchi-kun," a voice suddenly spoke up.

Kaiba fell deadly quiet. Jounouchi and the others turned to see Takeo approaching them. The new student sent a dazzling smile Jounouchi's way.

Takeo had been trying to talk to him before, but Jounouchi kept blowing him off. He felt guilty about doing that now. He didn't mean to ignore the newcomer. It was just that he had a lot on his mind. It seemed that Takeo really wanted to form some sort of friendship.

Jounouchi smiled back at Takeo, if just to be polite. Kaiba looked back and forward between the two. His frown was deep. Inwardly, Jounouchi was laughing. The Kaiba-creep didn't like being double-teamed, did he? That must be why he was so sour now.

"Thanks, Yamada-san," Jounouchi said.

Takeo's eyes seemed to light up. It looked like a dog that just got a pet from its favorite master. Jounouchi could almost see his non-existent tail wagging.

"I'm your biggest fan. I really loved watching you duel in the Battle City Tournament."

Everyone was in shock, Jounouchi most of all. Jounouchi had never been anyone's favorite before. It was flattering to see Takeo looking up to him. He had never minded that Yugi had all the fans, but he was thrilled to find that he had one of his own.

Jounouchi came forward and shook Takeo's hand.

"Thanks. That's cool of you to say. I hope you'll cheer me on in this tournament."

"Of course," Takeo's voice practically squeaked in pleasure.

Maybe it would be cool to invite this guy to watch him play? It would be awesome to add another friend to the gang.

But before Jounouchi could open his mouth, Kaiba came right inbetween them. The glare on his face could've set Takeo on fire.

"Who invited you to this conversation?"

What the hell was his problem, talking to Jounouchi's fan like that? Kaiba was pissing off Jounouchi the more he spoke.

"What the hell? You a hypocrite now? No one invited YOU to our conversation."

Kaiba gave him a look.

"Hypocrite? I'm surprised you know that word."

Now Takeo was pissed off. Something about that adorable face looked scary when mad. It was odd to see, considering when cute people like Yugi or Shizuka got mad, they just looked like little kids trying to look scary. But Takeo legitimately looked like a threat.

"Of course! Jounouchi-kun knows a lot more than you."

But Kaiba wasn't afraid, which Jounouchi was honestly impressed by. That really was a scary face Takeo was making. Kaiba turned to the fanboy.

"Why call him Jounouchi-kun? I didn't realize you were already friends with the mutt."

Takeo fell silent. In all honesty, Jounouchi thought it was a little off that he started calling him 'kun' without asking him first. It was kind of rude to do without permission. But the blonde wasn't about to support Kaiba, especially in front of his first real fan.

"Keeping tabs on my friends ain't your job, Kaiba. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna ask Yamada-san to watch me in the tournament."

Kaiba turned his back rather abruptly, "Do what you want."

He left to his desk without saying anything more.

A few days passed. Jounouchi had been spending more time with his fan. Takeo was happy as a clam every moment they were together, making Jounouchi wonder if this was his mysterious admirer. But every time he gathered the nerve to ask, something came up. An unexpected phone call, or one of Jounouchi's friends coming to talk.

It was obvious that Takeo really liked being with Jounouchi, but the blonde couldn't help but notice that he liked it almost too much. Takeo would glare and sulk whenever Jounouchi talked to his own friends. What would it be like when he came with him to the tournament?

The day of the competition arrived. Takeo grabbed Jounouchi's arm like his younger sister would do when they were kids, endearingly and possessively.

"Aren't you going to find an opponent?"

"Not yet. We're still waiting for Yugi," Jounouchi explained. It was weird how touchy-feely this guy was, but Jounouchi hadn't said anything about it yet.

At the mention of the small teen's name, Takeo nearly pouted. Anzu and Honda were starting to look worried at how possessive this student had gotten of their friend. Anzu turned around, smiled at what she saw and waved.

"Yugi! Over here."

The boy waved them back. He had been running toward them, and now seemed tired. He bent over and panted to regain his breath. Anzu cocked her head to the side.

"Where's the puzzle, Yugi?"

Yugi had a shocked look on his face that was so fake that even a smiling Kaiba would have been more believable.

"Oh! I guess I forgot it when I was trying to get here on time. Oh well. I'm sure the spirit will understand."

The gang looked at each other uncertainly, then Honda and Jounouchi turned their eyes on Anzu. She swallowed.

"Yugi," she said hesitantly, "Won't he be mad? I'm sure he's worried about you. I know! Maybe one of us could—"

But the tri-colored haired teen shook his head.

"No. Thank you though."

His tone was hard, so no one argued any further. Jounouchi and Yugi got their tickets once they showed the stand their monster figurines. In order to be considered for the competition, you needed five of each level, making it hard to carry. That was why the stand took it off their hands. They would use their virtual technology to give them back once they start dueling.

Yugi smiled up at his friend.

"Well, here's hoping we both get into the finals."

Jounouchi raised his thumb as a way to show his support.

"Let's split up. No offense to you, Yug, but challengers come frolicking to you. My best bet to getting my own opponent is going off on my own."

Yugi sighed at being reminded of his popularity. Ever since he and Yami earned the title King of Games, challengers wouldn't stop pestering him. Hell, they would even come to his house. Poor little guy. No wonder Yami had grown so overprotective.

Takeo grabbed Jounouchi's arm like he was his girlfriend. Jounouchi didn't want to tell his only fan off, so he didn't say anything. The blonde noticed that his friends were looking at him in concern. Anzu and Honda stayed behind with Yugi, which was for the best, since Yugi had stubbornly left the puzzle behind.

Jounouchi prayed that Yugi wouldn't find any trouble while he was without Yami. Honda may be able to fight a few people off, but considering the kind of enemy they tended to attract, it would take a 5000 year old spirit to keep Yugi safe.

Takeo pointed to a man with a tattoo of a rose on his bald forehead.

"Why don't you duel him? He looks easy."

Nothing looked very easy about that guy. He was over 6 feet tall and wore more leather than a bondage slave. He had piercings all over his face. Jounouchi wanted to back out, but the guy already saw them looking at him and came forward.

"Are you prepared to duel?" he asked in a low, dangerous voice.

"Go, Jounouchi-kun!" Takeo urged him forward.

"Well…I—" but the blonde was caught off.

"I hope you're not thinking of saying no to my challenge. I don't take kindly to having cowards in the same tournament as me."

Anger overrode Jounouchi's initial fear of this guy. He glared at the man with a fist raised.

"I'm no coward. Let's duel."

They began the fight. A virtual gumball machine came out that dispensed their own monsters rather than gumballs. This was how the tournament could make sure everyone was fighting fairly, using the same technology as was used in duel monsters to make it seem more alive.

They kept going until they each had seven monsters. Jounouchi had two level ones, a level two, three threes and one five. His opponent had two twos, two threes, one four and two fives. All in all, the opponent had the advantage by far.

The game ended quickly with not one of Jounouchi's monsters defeated. The machine pulled out a number 1 ball for him to keep. He stared at it silently as Takeo went up to hug him. This was too touchy-feely, so Jounouchi pushed him away, not missing the hurt look on Takeo's face. He quickly thought of an excuse.

"Eh…sorry. I'm not a very huggy person."

Takeo blinked.

"But I see you hug your friends sometimes."

Jounouchi's mind scrambled for a purchase. He tried to laugh it off. In all honesty, he was starting to get a little unnerved. Takeo never seemed to have much of a boundary before, but his touching got worse whenever they were alone.

"Right. Well, I mean…I guess I'm not in the mood to hug right now."

"But why? Didn't you just win your first match?"

Jounouchi gulped. He tried to think of another excuse, but nothing came to mind. And Takeo was edging closer to him, his expression looking a little like a desperate man in a dessert that just found an oasis. Jounouchi wasn't sure he wanted to be this guy's oasis.

A new voice saved Jounouchi.

"He said he wasn't going to hug you."

The two teens turned to where a young boy stood. Mokuba was glowering at Takeo like the mere sight of the teen disgusted him. Jounouchi looked around for Kaiba. It seemed that Mokuba decided to run off on his own again.

Takeo glared right back.

"This has nothing to do with you," he stated in a demeaning tone.

Jounouchi spoke before the two could get into a fight.

"Hey, Mokuba. Aren't you here to root for your brother?"

Takeo gave him a look of hurt, like even pretending to be Mokuba's friend was an act of betrayal. Jounouchi was starting to really resent this guy. Meanwhile, Mokuba smiled up at the blonde.

"I don't need to. I know he's going to win."

"Well, I'll be rooting for Yug. We'll see who wins."

Mokuba frowned. Jounouchi blinked a couple of times as the boy continued to stare up at him like he had something on his face.

"Eh…what is it?"

"Can I watch you duel, Jounouchi?"

Huh? The kid actually wanted to watch him play? What about Kaiba?

Mokuba gave him puppy eyes that were impossible to ignore. Jounouchi scratched the back of his head.

"Erm…sure. If you really want to."

"Awesome! Thanks, Jounouchi."

Takeo wasn't nearly as happy as Mokuba was about this. He glared at the boy as all three males walked to find the next opponent.


	4. Chapter 4

Jounouchi had just won against an incredibly muscled duelist that had some sort of tattoo on his arm. It looked like a snake, but Jounouchi couldn't tell for sure.

Now that Jounouchi thought about it, he remembered that Takeo had some sort of tattoo on the back of his neck. Maybe he could ask about it. Speaking of which, Takeo went in for a full hug after Jounouchi got his number 3 ball.

Mokuba pouted every time that happened. Jounouchi no longer tried to stop Takeo from hugging him, but that didn't mean it was any less uncomfortable than it had been before. Takeo frowned when he noticed that Jounouchi wasn't hugging back, or even acknowledging him for that matter. The blonde was just silently looking at his number.

"What's wrong?"

Jounouchi closed his eyes.

"Something's not right about the duels I've been in."

"What do you mean? You've won."

"Jounouchi's got a point," Mokuba added, "It's like they're losing on purpose."

Takeo glowered at the kid.

"Of course not! Jounouchi-kun's an excellent duelist. Right, Jounouchi-kun?"

But Takeo wasn't supported like he thought he would be. Jounouchi shook his head.

"Thanks for sticking up for me, but something doesn't feel right. I'm going to choose my next opponent, okay Takeo?"

Takeo frowned like he wanted to argue, but sheer unconditional love for Jounouchi was keeping him silent. Kaiba's voice suddenly spoke.

"Then why not duel me? We'll see if Takeo will still be your fan after I beat you."

Kaiba came forward with a smirk. Mokuba ran up toward him.

"Ni-san!"

"Kaiba? You actually want to duel me? Has the apocalypse already begun?" Jounouchi stated half-jokingly. It was almost always Jounouchi who challenged Kaiba and not the other way around.

"You want to duel or not? Of course, I'd understand if you'd decline. Plenty of cowards have refused me already."

"I'll show you coward. Let's duel."

"No!" Takeo's screech was unlike anything Jounouchi had ever heard. The new student look positively distraught by this.

Jounouchi backed away when Takeo got closer and grabbed onto his arm.

"You can't. Seto Kaiba's too strong. You'll lose the game."

What? Takeo held nothing but blind faith in him since they started. Now he was saying it was impossible for him to win?

Kaiba laughed almost joyfully.

"So this is how far your fan believes in you. So much for your secret admirer. It seems those love letters weren't worth the paper they're printed on."

"How did you know about those letters?" Takeo exclaimed.

The more pressing matter was how Takeo himself knew about the letters. But there was no need for him to answer. It was obvious to Jounouchi now that Takeo was the one who wrote to him.

Jounouchi didn't know what to feel. At first, he felt flattered, but flattery soon gave way to a new emotion. Something akin to…fear. Takeo had already proven that he didn't have boundaries, and Jounouchi wasn't sure he wanted to be with this guy.

But how would Takeo react when Jounouchi told him no?

Kaiba waved his hand like he was swatting a fly, "Please. I've read that stupid letter. Did it take you five seconds to come up with that puked up pile of words?"

Takeo looked heartbroken. Jounouchi's anger came back in full swing. That was low even for Kaiba to make fun of someone's infatuation. The blonde glared at Kaiba.

"You creep! Do you always got to pick on the little guys in the world? I'll beat your ass once and for all."

Takeo's eyes glistened in joy.

"Jounouchi-kun….Does that mean….you love me too?"

The blonde's heart plummeted into cold water. What was he supposed to say? Now Kaiba was staring at the blonde too, with the weirdest expression on the CEO's face. Kaiba looked…worried. But what about?

Jounouchi looked between Takeo's hopeful eyes and Kaiba's concerned ones. He felt trapped. He looked at Mokuba, and the kid decided to match his brother by looking worried too. Jounouchi gulped.

As if a saving grace came in the form of Anzu, the teenage girl ran up to him.

"Jounouchi!"

The blonde smiled at the interruption, but his grin faded the moment he saw Anzu. There was fear in her eyes.

"Yugi's been captured by some weird thugs! Honda went after them, but he hasn't come back."

"What!" Jounouchi was on the alert. Without another word, he was sprinting in the other direction.

"Where are you going?" Anzu cried out.

"To get the puzzle. I'm sure Yami can help out. Trust me, Anzu."

He didn't realize that Takeo was following him until they were already at the game shop. Takeo looked ready to cry.

"Oh no. You left the tournament. That means you're disqualified. How can this be?"

Jounouchi ignored him and swung opened the doors. Yugi's grandpa stared in shock.

"What in blue blazes is going on?"

"We need the puzzle!"

Mr. Motou's shock turned to a look of horror.

"Yugi didn't take it with him?!"

Uh oh. Now Yugi was going to be in trouble with both Yami and his grandpa. Jounouchi went to the small teen's room, where the ancient artifact lied helplessly on the bed. He grabbed it.

"Don't worry, Gramps. I'll give it back."

Takeo followed the blonde back to where Anzu was. She showed them down the alleyway where Honda had pursued the kidnappers. Jounouchi nearly tripped when Takeo grabbed hold of his arm.

"Let go of him," Kaiba ordered.

Kaiba glared at Takeo with more hate than Jounouchi had ever seen on the brunette's face. That was a lot of hate too. Takeo glared back, looking just as scary.

Jounouchi was shocked that Kaiba and his little brother had followed them. Anzu looked around and listened at one door, frowning when she heard nothing, then went to another door and leaned her head in. Meanwhile, Jounouchi was dealing with Kaiba and Takeo having a stare down.

"Why should I listen to you?" Takeo growled.

"In case you haven't notice, the mutt's friend is in danger. He cannot be bothered to drag your heavy ass around. Let go of him so he can get Yugi his Millennium Puzzle."

"As much as I hate to agree with moneybags, Kaiba's got a point."

Takeo's eyes went wide and he let go of Jounouchi. The blonde shook his head sadly.

"Look. I'm real flattered. But now's not the time. Yugi's in trouble and I need to help him out."

"If it wasn't for Yugi, you'd still be in the tournament. It's his fault anyway."

Any amount of pity Jounouchi felt for Takeo quickly turned to anger. He lift up Takeo's collar threateningly.

"Listen pal. Yugi's my friend, and I'll give up a million tournaments to protect him. He'd do the same for me. That's just how friendship works," Jounouchi let him go, "Now get outta here. I need to help Anzu."

Takeo's face was crushed. The humiliated teen ran away as fast as he could. Jounouchi mentally cursed himself. That had been too harsh, but now was not the time to go apologizing. He had to find Yugi first. Mokuba was smiling like he won something, but the smile faded when Anzu came back.

"I know where they are."

She led them to a warehouse. Yugi and Honda were both surrounded by weird looking men in tattoos. Jounouchi noticed three of them from the previous duels he faced. A lean figure was smiling as he watched the sight from afar. Yugi and Honda had wounds all over them.

The head honcho laughed.

"I guess your friends aren't going to come, little Yugi."

"Think again," Anzu said. The people stared at them in shock. Head Honcho glowered.

"What are you doing here?"

Jounouchi cried out, "Yugi! Catch!"

With the last of his strength, Yugi grabbed the puzzle that flew in his direction. The small teen stared at it in misery, wincing. He spoke too softly to hear, but Jounouchi was able to read his lips.

"I'm sorry….Yami."

A flash of golden light and Yami was standing strong on his feet. His angry eyes bore on all his opponents. He held onto the puzzle tenderly and securely.

"We'll talk about it later, Yugi," the pharaoh stated simply, then glared at the Head Honcho, "What made you think you can hurt my friends?"

Head Honcho laughed. Yami glared.

"How dare you hurt Yugi! Laugh all you want, for it will be the last thing you ever do."

Uh oh. Jounouchi could see that this guy was going to die if he didn't stop Yami. The eye symbol was already on the pharaoh's head. Jounouchi made to run in front of Yami, but something held him back.

A flash of white light glowed and the man lied on the floor, not moving an inch. This scared everyone else off. Jounouchi could only hear the sounds of his own breathing. He turned to see who had stopped him.

Kaiba. And he looked…scared.

"It would have gotten you instead. You idiot. Don't get in the pharaoh's line of fire like that."

Jounouchi looked at Kaiba for what felt like the first time. The only time he ever saw concern in Kaiba's eyes was when Mokuba was in danger. Now the worry was being directed at him? It was unreal.

An hour later, Anzu, Honda, Yami and Jounouchi were all sitting it out, trying to catch their breath. Yami had refused to go back into his puzzle and if Jounouchi's hunch was correct, he was going to insist on staying out the rest of the day.

Anzu nervously glanced up at the town clock.

"Well, the tournament will continue tomorrow. That's good, right guys?"

Honda held and ice pack on his black eye. Despite being wounded, he managed a smile.

"Right. Jounouchi still has a chance to win the bet."

"There is no chance."

Everyone stared at Yami in shock. The pharaoh didn't look at any of them. Instead, his head was bent down and his eyes gazed at the ground.

"What do you mean there's no chance?" demanded Jounouchi.

"I'm sorry. But you'll have to lose this bet. I will not let Yugi out of my sight again."

Good God. He sounded serious. And it was starting to scare Jounouchi. Turned out he wasn't the only one. Anzu looked nervous too.

"Yami, calm down. What do you even mean by that? You're not planning on keeping Yugi in the puzzle forever."

"He left me, Anzu!" Yami turned to her, sounding hysterical, "I realize now that I've been giving him too much freedom. I can't….I won't…"

"Okay. Calm the fuck down," Honda placed his ice pack on the table, "You sound like you're going to trap him inside forever. I know Yugi shouldn't have left the puzzle behind, but goddamn! Pull yourself together."

"He's right. It will kill Yugi to stay trapped inside there," Jounouchi said.

Yami suddenly stood up.

"But it will keep him safe."

"Yami—" but Yami cut Anzu off before she could begin.

"Please. If you all are my friends, you won't try to talk me out of this."

"This is nuts Yami," Jounouchi cried, "Why not let Yugi out from time to time like you've been doing? He'll still be safe. So long as he has the puzzle—"

"And what if he somehow 'forgets' the puzzle again? I won't let that happen. You all stay out of my way."

With that, Yami left as fast as he could. The gang fell into shock.

"What do we do now?" Anzu asked.

"He's gotta know how crazy he sounds," Jounouchi said.

"We need to give it time," Honda advised, "Look, guys. He's just scared. He was trapped for thousands of years before Yugi showed up. I'm sure that's why he's so scared of losing him."

They all nodded in agreement. Anzu took in a deep breath.

"So, here's the plan. We'll give him a day to cool down. Hopefully by tomorrow he'll come back to reality, but if not, then we'll all confront him together. Agreed?"

"Right."

Honda sighed.

"This has all turned out to be a huge mess. Why can't these tournaments ever end normally?"

Jounouchi walked his way home later that night, thinking about what Honda said. It was true. They never could catch a break. Whether it was Battle City or Pegasus's tournament, none of these events were smooth rides for them. It tended to tire Jounouchi out.

The blonde paused when he saw something by his front door. A package. And it was addressed to him. Jounouchi opened the note that came with it.

 _From your other secret admirer_

No way. Was this a trick by Takeo? Jounouchi opened the package. His jaw fell to the floor. What…could it be? No way. He was searching for that forever.

A level 5 capsule monster that looked exactly like his Red Eyes Black Dragon.


	5. Chapter 5

Jounouchi was the first to arrive at the tournament. One of the people coordinating the event came up to him.

"Katsuya Jounouchi?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm afraid you were seen leaving the area before our hours were through. I'm sorry, but you're disqualified from the tournament."

"I understand. But I'm still watching my friend play. Can you guys hold on to my capsule monsters while I watch?"

The man looked relieved that Jounouchi didn't argue with him. Jounouchi was sure he had a lot of angry contestants giving him hell in the past.

"I don't see why not. Just remember to pick them up at the end of the day."

"Thanks."

The man left. Anzu came forward, then Honda appeared. They waited five minutes before Yami showed up. Honda and Jounouchi turned to Anzu, silently designating her to bring the topic up. She gulped.

"Hello, Yami. How's Yugi doing?"

The pharaoh offered a polite smile, even though everyone knew what she was getting at.

"He's feeling a bit under the weather, so I'll take over for him."

Honda blinked, "You mean you guys are still in the tournament?"

"Of course," Yami answered simply.

"What about Kaiba?" Jounouchi asked.

Yami gave the blonde a piercing stare that almost made Jounouchi want to sink into the ground. How could the pharaoh be that intimating? It must come naturally for him, since he had been a ruler at one time.

"I'll duel him in Yugi's place."

"Meaning that Jounouchi already lost the bet," Honda said.

"I'm sorry," Yami didn't sound very sorry, "Perhaps before we duel, I can convince Kaiba to reconsider the bet."

 _Fat chance of that happening_ , thought Jounouchi.

Yami was about to leave to find his next opponent when Anzu held him back by the shoulder. The pharaoh tensed up, but otherwise didn't react. As a matter of fact, he didn't even look at her.

"Yami, has Yugi been out at all today?"

The tri-haired teen smiled with his eyes closed.

"As I said before, he's feeling under the weather. I think it would be better for me to take control for the entire day, just to be safe."

"And what about tomorrow? And the next day? Are you going to let him out then?"

"Please, Anzu," Yami still didn't glance her way, "Yugi needs to stay inside the puzzle. I explained all of this to you already."

Honda stepped in, "We're going to have to insist you let him out. Yami, he's not a little kid."

This time the pharaoh did glance back at his friends, but he was no longer smiling.

"First Yugi, and now you, Honda? I am not treating him like a child. I am treating him like my light. It's the darkness job to protect the light. That's why I've been protecting him."

"You're wrong."

The pharaoh blinked at Jounouchi. The blonde came right up to his face with a deadly serious expression.

"What do you mean?"

"You're wrong about Yugi, and you're wrong about yourself," the words came straight from the heart, "You weren't protecting him because it was your job. You protected him because you wanted to. Because he was your friend."

Honda and Anzu nodded. They were glad that Jounouchi knew what to say when the moment called for it. Yami averted his eyes, looking a tad guilty, but still defiant.

"Then why do you all disapprove of me keeping him safe?"

"We don't," Anzu argued, "We just don't agree with how you're doing it. We want to see Yugi and Yugi needs to live his life normally. He needs to leave the puzzle."

Yami stared down in contemplation, looking defeated. Jounouchi let out a sigh of relief. He knew his friend pretty well to know the next step. This was the part where Yami admitted to being wrong, and he would allow Yugi back out.

The pharaoh's glare intensified, and if Jounouchi didn't know any better, he would have assumed that Yami was trying to shoot lasers out of his eyes. The gang awkwardly stared as Yami tensed up with every passing second.

"No. I know what's best for Yugi. I demand you all stay out of my way!"

Honda and Jounouchi were scared shitless. Anzu was too, but only for a moment. Then she became angry.

With her hands placed firmly on her hips, she said, "Listen Yami. You're not the king in this day in age. You can't tell us what to do."

"I will do whatever it takes to keep Yugi unharmed."

"What are you going to do if we don't stop? Huh? Are you going to mind crush us?"

Yami gaped at Anzu, as if she was the one taking things too far. The tri-haired teen shook his head.

"Of course not. But if you don't cease, then I will make you stop."

"Without hurting us?"

"I can do it, Anzu. Don't tempt me."

The two had a stare down for a few of the longest seconds of Jounouchi's life. Finally, Anzu looked away in defeat.

"Fine. Do what you want."

Anzu walked away. Honda glared at Yami, then followed her. Only Jounouchi stayed behind to see what effect their departure had on Yami.

Yami looked slightly sad, but also slightly relieved. Jounouchi had been hoping he would have looked guiltier than he did now. No doubt Yami was still convinced that he was in the right.

"I will go find my next opponent. Jounouchi, you should find yours too."

The blonde blinked, then remembered that Yami wasn't fully aware of the rules, so he didn't know that his friend had been disqualified. Jounouchi contemplated telling him, but he was too late. Yami was already gone.

Jounouchi shrugged. Yami would find out eventually.

The teen turned to follow Anzu and Honda when a figure appeared right before him. Takeo. And he had a box of chocolates that he was holding out as if to offer to Jounouchi.

"Eh…Hey Takeo."

"Good morning, Katsuya-kun. I wanted to give you something sweet as a way to apologize."

"You don't have—" Jounouchi was interrupted by the candy being shoved in his arms.

"I insist! I'm really, really sorry. I know how much you like your friends. I was just jealous."

Jounouchi felt a lump of dread going down the pit of his stomach.

"Jealous of my friends?"

"Well, you're always talking to them. And I wanted you to talk to me."

"I do talk to you."

"But not as much as you talk to them. That's why I was jealous. Sorry."

It was becoming increasingly obvious that Takeo had a few loose wires in his brain. But at least the guy admitted it and was apologizing. Jounouchi figured they could still be friends.

So long as they weren't very close friends.

The blonde put a hand at the back of his head.

"Well thanks. I appreciate it. And I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have been so harsh. I just had to save Yug, you know?"

Takeo hugged onto Jounouchi tightly. Jounouchi inwardly begged the man not to try and kiss him. Kaiba suddenly came to view.

"I thought you were dumped, loser."

Was he talking to Jounouchi or Takeo? Takeo's blissful expression melted into rage. The new student let go of Jounouchi (thank God) and went to glare at the CEO.

"Of course not. Katsuya-kun loves me."

Kaiba smirked, but his eyes were very hard.

"Really? Did he tell you that for a fact?"

Takeo fell silent. The CEO glanced in Jounouchi's direction.

"At first I was afraid that might have been true. I knew Jounouchi was pathetic, but I thought even he had better sense than to fall for you. Yesterday I wasn't so sure. But now I can see," Kaiba kept his eyes on the blonde, "The way Jounouchi looks at you. He thinks you're as mad as I do."

 _Shut up, Kaiba. You're only making it worse_ , Jounouchi yelled in his head.

Takeo looked like he was ready to have a meltdown at any second. His breathing was getting heavy and his face was flushed red.

"You're wrong! He loves me. Right, Katsuya?" he turned to the blonde. Oh shit. His eyes were crazy.

Jounouchi looked back and forward between Kaiba and Takeo. In all honesty, he wanted to rush to the CEO's arms for safety. Kaiba may be a total jackass, but at least he was sane.

"Um…look, Takeo. Don't…" what could Jounouchi say to appease Takeo without saying that he loved him? "Don't listen to what Kaiba says. He's just trying to get under your skin."

Kaiba frowned. Takeo frowned. A bead of sweat trailed down the back of Jounouchi's head.

Suddenly, a smirk formed on Kaiba's face.

"By the way, mutt. You owe me a duel."

Jounouchi blinked.

"Kaiba, you know I'm disqualified."

"Is that a fact? Ask again, loser."

"Huh?"

Kaiba had no need to explain himself, for the man from before suddenly came up to Jounouchi.

"Mr. Jounouchi. I apologize for earlier. It turns out you're still in the tournament."

"Eh…what?" the blonde could only stare at the man as if he had grown a second head.

"You're still in the tournament. We were mistaken."

Jounouchi glanced at Kaiba, then back at the man.

"But I left the area."

"Doesn't matter. Your monsters are ready to fight. Do you want to exchange any of them?"

The blonde opened his mouth, but couldn't find his voice. This whole situation was odd.

Wordlessly, Jounouchi dug into his pocket and pulled out his Red Eyes Black Dragon. He told him which monster he wanted to exchange it with. The man took the figurine as well as the monster, and walked away.

Takeo grinned widely and came up to Jounouchi.

"Isn't it great? You weren't disqualified after all."

Kaiba faked a cough.

"I believe you owe me thanks."

The other two stared at him in shock.

"Kaiba, why the heck did you help me?" Jounouchi asked.

"I wanted to beat you personally. Or is that too much for your tiny brain to understand?"

"Thank you."

The CEO paused, staring up at Jounouchi with his brilliant blue eyes. For once, they weren't cold or hard. Simply curious. Kaiba clearly hadn't really expected the thanks.

Jounouchi held onto his gaze.

"I mean it. And thanks for stopping me yesterday. If you hadn't, Yami would have accidentally got me instead. You can be a really cool guy when you wanna be."

Kaiba's jaw fell slack. Jounouchi didn't know what was going on in his head, but he could see a bit of warmth in the brunette's eyes. Jounouchi had only seen that look whenever Mokuba had just been saved from danger. He wished he could see it a lot more often.

Too bad Takeo had to ruin the moment. The teenager glared at Kaiba before taking Jounouchi's hand and dragging him away.

"Come on, Katsuya-kun. We got duels to play."

"But…" Jounouchi looked back at Kaiba, but the brunette was already leaving in the other direction. For some reason, Jounouchi felt like he was losing something precious.

The next few duels were easy. Jounouchi was at level five in a couple of hours. Takeo hopped up and down like a child being promised treats.

"Great! You'll get to be in the finals."

"Congratulations, Jounouchi-kun," Yami's voice beamed.

Yami had come up with a level five of his own. Jounouchi smiled, relieved that he was no longer alone with this guy.

"Hey, Yam. Can't wait to duel you in the finals."

Takeo grabbed Jounouchi's arm. The blonde resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Yami looked between the two males, frowning every time he glanced at Takeo.

"It seems you two are getting along."

"Did Anzu or Honda ever come back?"

"No. I assume they were busy."

They both knew that was a lie. But Jounouchi could tell that arguing with the pharaoh was useless. There had to be another way to get through his skull. Takeo refused to be ignored.

"Katsuya-kun, let's get something to eat to celebrate."

Yami smiled.

"Why don't we go to Burger World?"

"Who invited you?"

Anger flashed in Jounouchi's chest. He sucked in a breath so that he didn't go overboard with scolding Takeo like last time.

"He's my friend. Of course he can come."

Takeo backed away, his eyes were crazy once more. Then, in less than a second, the teenager looked calm. It scared Jounouchi more than the crazy look.

"I just remembered that I have to be somewhere. I'll see you later, Katsuya-kun."

With that, Takeo ran away, leaving the other two males stunned. Yami slowly turned his head to meet Jounouchi's gaze.

"Be careful. Something's not right about him."

"No kidding," was all Jounouchi could say.


	6. Chapter 6

Jounouchi wasn't the brightest tool in the shed, even he would admit to that. But while he wasn't the smartest person in the world, he still knew how to form a strategy when the situation required it. And Yugi needed him now more than ever. He had just called and found out that Yami was still taking control without letting his other self out even once.

"But why not give him some fresh air to breathe? I'm sure he hates being stuck in there," Jounouchi had argued.

"I'm doing the breathing for him, Jounouchi. You see, we share the same body and the body's the only thing that needs to breathe. Yugi's a spirit now and I'm sure he'll be much happier."

When he said that, Jounouchi realized that Yami intended on staying in control for a very long time. The blonde took a gulp of air before asking his next question.

"Yam, is he really happy?"

There was a pause.

"Not yet. He needs time to get used to this idea."

"Meaning that this wasn't his decision to make."

"He made it his decision," Yami's voice was cold and nearly threatening, "When he foolishly left the puzzle behind, just because he felt the need to prove something."

Jounouchi was silent after that. But his mind was racing with possible plans to help Yugi. If Yami thought that Jounouchi would just let him overtake Yugi completely without a fight, then the pharaoh had another thing coming to him.

But what could he do? Jounouchi thought of several ideas, but no plan seemed good enough to work. Yami was the type who trusted his own judgment over anyone else's. So the only way to convince him was to show him firsthand that he had lost his mind.

Yami was insane. An insane yami. You know who else had an insane yami? Bakura.

Bingo. Jounouchi smiled broadly as the idea came to him in the middle of the night. He picked up his phone and dialed Ryou's number.

"Hello?" Ryou's curious voice was fatigued.

"Hey, Bakura. I wanted to talk to you."

"Jounouchi-kun? It's the middle of the night. What was so important that—ACK!"

Jounouchi couldn't figure out what he was hearing on the other end, but it sounded like Ryou just fell head first on the floor.

"What happened? Are you okay? Bakura? Bakura!"

"I'm here, fool."

"Oh," Jounouchi sighed in relief, "You were just taking over, weren't you Yami Bakura? I was worried the other Bakura had a heart attack."

"I'm so glad you're worried about my host," Bakura spat sarcastically, "But tell me, if you were really concerned for his health, then why the hell are you calling at two in the morning? What's so important to talk to my landlord about that it can't wait until daylight?"

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you."

A beat.

"Me?"

"Yep. I wanted to invite you to the tournament. I need you to talk sense to Yami. He's trapped Yugi in the puzzle and won't let him out."

"Huh….Odd. I didn't think he was the type to put his hikari on such a short leash. Let me guess. He caught the little one flirting with another man and so he plans to keep him all to himself?"

"No, he's not a creep."

Jounouchi was about to add _like you_ but caught himself in the nick of time. Bakura took this information in silently, and the blonde waited for him to respond. He didn't, so Jounouchi continued on his own.

"Look. Yugi almost got hurt because he didn't take his puzzle with him, so now Yami's overprotectiveness has evolved to…to like….super mega overprotective."

"I see."

"He's gone cuckoo, man."

"And what do you suggest I do?"

"Look. You may have gone straight…for now. But Yami still doesn't like you. Maybe you can get him angry. You know. Tell him how much you respect your hikari because you let him out from time to time. What have you got to lose? You get to piss him off and help Yugi at the same time."

"The first part sounds tempting, but why would I give a rat's ass about what Yugi wants?"

Jounouchi knew exactly how to get to this guy's weakness.

"Because that will make Ryou like you more."

"Just what in Ra's name are you getting at?"

"Ryou and Yugi are friends, right? So if you help Yugi, Ryou might want to kiss you."

"He can't, you moron! We have the same body."

"You can do it spiritually."

"Oh….joy…"

"So you do want a kiss from him?" Jounouchi smirked.

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't deny it either."

Silence echoed through the line. Jounouchi was smirking, but he was also secretly nervous. There was a chance that Bakura would hang up on him and that would be the end of this plan. Jounouchi's grip on the phone was so tight that his palm was sweating.

Finally, Bakura responded with a deep chuckle.

"Alright. You got me. I do rather enjoy the idea of my little landlord loving me a little more. I'll do it."

Jounouchi smiled in relief.

"But," Bakura continued with a dark tone, "If you tell anyone about this conversation, I'll take you straight down to hell. And that will be a lot worse for you than any Shadow Realm."

The blonde agreed easily.

The next day, Jounouchi met Yami at the bus stop. The finals would be taken place in a different building, so they decided to meet here. The pharaoh was already there when Jounouchi appeared. Jounouchi could only hope that Bakura was already there, waiting for Yami.

"Hey, Yam."

Yami smiled with an expression that looked like relief. He seemed to think that Jounouchi wouldn't try to change his mind. That was fine with Jounouchi. It would make it easier to trick him.

"Greetings, Jounouchi-kun. Yugi says hello."

"Gotta say. I miss talking to him."

Yami frowned, looking more guilty than angry.

"I know. Anzu and Honda are still refusing to speak to me. Perhaps we can agree to a safe place and time to meet, where I will let Yugi go for a while."

That was a very good sign. If Yami was already considering to compromise, then that meant his mind could be changed. _Hang in there, Yugi. Jounouchi will snap Yami out of it soon._

Jounouchi felt a tap on his shoulder, so he turned around. He managed not to frown at what he saw. Takeo. Of course. Who else would it have been?

"Good morning, Katsuya-kun."

"Hey, Takeo. I was just getting ready to ride the bus with Yami here," Jounouchi pointed to his friend.

To his surprise, Takeo walked passed Jounouchi and came straight up to Yami. He grabbed the pharaoh's hand without any warning, causing Yami to look flustered and confused.

"Um…can I help you?"

Takeo's eyes sparkled at him.

"I never did say it. But I always did respect you as a duelist. I'm your biggest fan."

Jounouchi scowled. Well, there went his only fanboy. He felt a tiny bit insulted. But most of all, he felt relieved. Looks like this guy would be Yami's problem now. Poor Yami.

Yami, meanwhile, seemed to be having trouble processing this.

"Excuse me?"

He let out a yelp when Takeo suddenly hugged him. Jounouchi felt his face heat up at the pda. He looked around to make sure no one else was watching.

Yami pushed him off.

"Let go!" he cried angrily.

Takeo was pushed back, but he was smiling in victory. In his hands was the Millennium Puzzle, which he must've snatched during the hug. Jounouchi and Yami stared in horror.

"Give it back," Yami's tone was dark and full of hinted threats. He made a move, but stopped short when Takeo aimed it at the ground. The bastard was smirking evilly.

"What would happen if I break it?"

"You will do no such thing!" Yami screeched.

Jounouchi knew that Yami could just put the puzzle back together, so what was up with his reaction? Yami must've had a good reason to be worried, so Jounouchi glared at Takeo.

"Give it back, Yamada."

Takeo stepped away from them, eyeing them carefully.

"I won't lose you Katsuya-kun. Come with me or I'll break it."

A rumble came forward and in a few seconds, they were surrounded by motorcycles. Jounouchi noticed all of the people Takeo had him play. The bald one looked at Takeo.

"What shall we do, boss?"

"Boss?" Jounouchi could hardly believe his ears. Takeo was the leader. He thought Yami already got rid of the head honcho.

Speaking of which, the pharaoh's eye symbol appeared on his forehead.

"If you attack. We'll shatter this thing to pieces," Takeo warned, "Takuro. Grab Jounouchi."

"Don't bother. I'll come with you, you freak," Jounouchi spat out in disgust.

Despite the insult, Takeo looked happy.

"You will?"

"Yeah. Just give Yami back his puzzle."

Takeo frowned.

"Hop on the motorbike and I'll do it."

He pointed to where Takuro was waiting. Jounouchi took in a deep breath and did as he was told. Suddenly, the bike kicked into gear and he was riding at full speed. They were back in the warehouse that they found Yugi and Honda the first time.

Takuro forced Jounouchi out of his seat and soon the blonde was surrounded by people tying him up.

"Great job, morons. You went to the exact same place we found you last time," mocked the blonde.

Takuro grimaced, looking close to punching Jounouchi in the face. He managed to keep his fists to himself. Another one of Takeo's lackies responded.

"We don't need to find a different spot. That big Yugi guy won't do anything so long as we have the puzzle."

"What!" Jounouchi cried, "He was supposed to give it back to him."

Takeo's voice came from behind the goonies.

"But he would've followed if I had. I'm sorry, Katsuya-kun."

The man came forward, looking crazy as well as evil. The man held the puzzle in his hands.

"Bastard," Jounouchi grumbled.

Takeo frowned. A second later, a strong kick came tumbling down onto Jounouchi's stomach, taking the breath out of him. Jounouchi coughed for a few seconds while Takeo remained expressionless. He didn't look guilty at all for hurting someone he claimed to love.

"Now, Katsuya-kun. Don't make me hurt you like that. From now on, you'll call me Takeo-sama."

Jounouchi stared horrified. Takeo sat down next to him and wrapped his arms around him. The tied blonde couldn't do anything to get him off.

"We'll be together forever, Katsuya-kun. No one will take you away from me. Not Yugi, or Anzu or Honda. And definitely not that spoiled rich brat."

"Let me go. Give the puzzle back to Yami."

His only answer was unwelcome teeth nibbling at his ear. Takeo blew his hot breath onto Jounouchi's neck. The blonde felt close to throwing up everything he had ever eaten in his life.

"Please let me go."

"I can't. I'll never let you go again. But I can do something else. Why don't we pass the time with some kissing?"

Takeo went in for the kill, but Jounouchi leaned his head away from him. The other appeared hurt, then looked angry. Jounouchi realized he still had the puzzle. There must've been a good reason that Yami didn't want Takeo to destroy it. He had to stall for time and make sure Takeo kept his eyes off of the ancient artifact.

"Wait, Takeo. What about the tournament? How can I win if I'm not there?"

"You wouldn't have won anyway. I saved you from humiliation, Katsuya-kun."

Jounouchi glared. So all that faith in him had been all an act after all. That made sense, considering Takeo had his people lose on purpose this entire time. Still, it hurt to realize this.

"Don't look so angry. Your face is so much more beautiful when you're happy."

Jounouchi only glared harder.

"I know. Why don't we have a capsule monsters tournament right here?" suggested Takeo. Jounouchi looked down at the ropes tying him down.

"How can I do that without my monsters? Or free use of my arms?"

"Don't worry. You can always watch. Everyone. Find your opponent and begin to duel!"

To Jounouchi's shock, these bigger, scarier people agreed easily. What was it about Takeo that made them all obey him without question?

They found a board and played several matches in front of Jounouchi. It wasn't nearly as exciting without holograms making the monsters alive, but it was still fascinating to watch these people when they were actually trying to win.

Jounouchi looked at the puzzle that had been carelessly laid on the floor. How was he supposed to help Yugi if he was tied up? It seemed that Yami's plan to protect Yugi had severely backfired.

The door suddenly opened wide during the final duel. Jounouchi's eyes sparkled when he saw Yami right there. Takeo was on his feet in a flash and he rushed toward the puzzle. He grabbed it and held it up.

"Don't take another step or I'll smash it to pieces."

A voice from behind Yami spoke.

"Oh? And what if I have something to say about that?"

"Kaiba?" Jounouchi couldn't believe his ears. Wasn't that guy already at the tournament?

Kaiba walked into view. He held something in his hands. A camera.

"This isn't looking good for your little gang. It will be a shame if we had to get the authorities to deal with this."

The rest of the gang had also stood up at this point. They faced the two with low growls like angry wolves surrounding a few stray rabbits. Kaiba merely looked amused. Jounouchi wondered if he was going to accuse them of acting like mutts like he did with him.

Takeo stared at the camera in horror.

"You're bluffing."

"You wanna bet? I'm recording right now. And seeing the mutt tied up here is making things look bad for you."

Yami walked forward.

"Stay back, little man," the biggest guy warned. He was silenced by the eye symbol appearing on Yami's forehead.

"Believe me, if I can send you all to the Shadow Realm in one mind crush, I would do it. You have threatened Yugi for the last time."

Takeo held out the puzzle.

"Then take it back. But leave Katsuya-kun to me."

"Absolutely not," it was—surprisingly-Kaiba that said this, "I still need a duel with him."

"You just want to humiliate him in front of everybody! I'll protect Katsuya-kun from you."

Kaiba glared and it was chilling to look at. Jounouchi could almost feel himself shivering from that heated look from the CEO.

But Takeo wasn't nearly as intimidated.

"I'll duel one of you. And if I win, then I get to keep Katsuya-kun."

Jounouchi made a noise of disgust. Yami turned to Takeo.

"Fine. If I win, you return both Jounouchi and the puzzle."

But before Yami could step forward, Kaiba held him back. The pharaoh shot him a dirty look. Kaiba leered back at him.

"I'll take him."

"Why?"

"I don't need to explain myself to you, spirit. You asked for my help. Well now I'm going to duel," Kaiba turned to Takeo, "Come on, you little freak. I challenge you."

Takeo sneered at the CEO with eyes burning in hatred.

"Of course. I'll beat you and earn Katsuya's love."

Jounouchi was disgusted, but Kaiba looked even more so.


	7. Chapter 7

Since they couldn't use the tournament's equipment, Kaiba agreed to use the same monsters as Takeo. Jounouchi hoped the CEO knew what he was doing. After all, Takeo might have some sort of trick up his sleeve. But perhaps Jounouchi was worried for no reason. They were going to use the same dispenser, so maybe Takeo had no way of cheating anyway.

Jounouchi's heart raced as Kaiba stood in front of the capsule machine, waiting for Takeo to dispense his first monster. Takeo twisted the knob with a loud clunk, causing a level five monster popped out. The crazy man laughed victoriously in a way that made Jounouchi sick to his stomach.

"With this monster, we're one step closer to staying together forever, Jounouchi-kun!"

Jounouchi was close to vomiting. Meanwhile, Kaiba glared daggers at Takeo. If Kaiba wasn't normally so in control over his emotions, Jounouchi would have thought he would punch Takeo at any second.

"You get yourself one good monster and you're acting like you've already won. Here's a useful tip, you buffoon. Wait until we're actually playing before you deem yourself in a good position."

With that, Kaiba took his turn with the knob. A level one. Kaiba and Yami both grunted in unison, as if seeing such a weak monster brought them physical pain. Jounouchi felt a jolt of terror and noted for himself that it hurt.

Takeo laughed, "I'm sorry. What were you saying?" The mad man turned his knob, "A level four! This match is as good as won."

"Believe in the monsters, Kaiba," Yami suddenly advised. Kaiba shot the pharaoh a cold glare.

"I'm not in the mood for a capsule version of your heart of cards speech."

Kaiba turned the knob again. Jounouchi's heart sank as another level one appeared in his hand. Takeo drew two more level fours. Kaiba got another one and then a two. Takeo laughed as he drew his fifth one. Another level five.

Kaiba looked ready to tear the man's throat out. Jounouchi couldn't take it anymore.

"Come on, Kaiba! Listen to Yami and believe in the monsters."

"They're not even mine!" Kaiba barked.

"But Takeo doesn't give a rat's ass about them. So maybe they'll thank you if you decide to believe in them? Come on, Kaiba! It's not like you have anything to lose," Jounouchi was practically begging now. Someone shoot him. He was actually begging Seto Kaiba to do something for him.

A hard kick came barreling down on top of Jounouchi's stomach. Pain shot through his abdomen as Jounouchi lost his breath for a short second. The person who kicked him was glaring down at him.

"You're not to root for the opponent," the nameless minion stated.

"Jounouchi, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Yam," Jounouchi breathed out. Takeo glared at the blonde.

"He's right, you know Katsuya-kun? I'm the one who you want to see win."

Kaiba was giving the man who kicked Jounouchi his coldest look imaginable.

"If you do that again, you'll no longer have that leg. I'll see to that."

Jounouchi's face heated up as his heart swelled in joy. Kaiba actually cared for him? He knew the guy had a soft side, but he thought such a side only applied to Mokuba.

Despite all the insults Kaiba had ever delivered his way, Jounouchi always kind of liked the guy. He only got onto Kaiba when he was being a jerk.

Takeo glared at the CEO.

"Katsuya's not your concern. Now hurry up and turn the knob."

Kaiba locked gazes with Jounouchi, making the blonde flush red. That was legitimate concern in those blue eyes. Then Kaiba's expression hardened to determination.

"Alright. Fine. From now on, I'll believe in these monsters."

Takeo burst out laughing.

"Oh, come on! You're Seto Kaiba, the no-nonsense duelist. Surely you're not actually falling for that heart speech? You idiot! That's some old fairytale my grandpa believes."

While he was talking, Kaiba turned the knob. A level five monster popped out, promptly shutting Takeo up. The crazy teen stared at it like it was some sort of alien device. Kaiba chuckled.

"I'm sorry. What were you saying?" Kaiba mimicked Takeo's earlier words.

"But…how?"

"Alright, Kaiba!" Jounouchi cheered, "Show the creep who's boss."

Takeo's remaining monsters were two level ones, while Kaiba got two more level fives. The duel was almost balanced. Takeo looked much more frustrated than he had at the start of the duel. Jounouchi was happy to see such a distraught look on his face.

They used a normal stage to play. It became clear that while Takeo was considered good, Kaiba was a bit better. Kaiba already defeated two of his monsters.

The CEO smirked.

"What's the matter? Aren't you going to use a strong monster to defeat me?"

Takeo was livid. He was so angry that his face was red.

"I'll show you strong."

Takeo looked around, then his eyes darted to the camera that Kaiba had. It happened in slow motion. Takeo slung the puzzle across the room. Yami stared in horror as the thing smashed to pieces.

"NO!"

Jounouchi could've gladly gone his whole life without hearing such a sad wail from the pharaoh. Yami looked nearly in tears as he held the pieces close to his chest.

"Yugi! Little one. I'm so sorry."

Meanwhile, Takeo had used that as a distraction in order to grab the camera from underneath the table. Kaiba shot out of his seat. Takeo had the element of surprise, but Kaiba was faster and stronger. He punched the man out.

The rest of the gang dove headfirst to get a shot at Kaiba. The CEO managed to take two of them down in an instant, making Jounouchi no longer ashamed that he could never beat this guy in combat.

But the minions were just a distraction. Takeo managed to recover, then he ran towards Jounouchi and forced him to his feet.

"Come on. We'll find another place to hide out until this blows over."

"Are you serious? I'm not going with you."

Takeo grinned.

"Don't worry, Katsuya. I'll take you away from that miserable CEO. He doesn't love you like I do."

"No on in their right mind loves me like you do. That's because they're actually in the right mind," Jounouchi struggled as Takeo pulled him forward, "Let me go."

"Behave, Katsuya," Takeo's voice was low and threatening.

Jounouchi could normally take on a guy like this, but the fact that he was tied up made it really difficult for him to fight back. He flailed as a means to try and push him away. Takeo held onto the rope like it was a leash, keeping Jounouchi in check.

Takeo was smiling merrily, even when his men were slowly getting bested by Kaiba. In Takeo's mind, he had already won.

A bright light shining behind Jounouchi caused everyone in the room to pause. When Yami grew angry enough to use his powers, it was usually only his forehead that glowed yellow. Now his entire body was filled with an angry aura.

In his hands was the puzzle, put back together good as new. This didn't seem to appease Yami in the slightest. Now that the pharaoh had finished helping Yugi, he was ready to collect his revenge.

Takeo was so stunned that he let go of the rope. Yami took a scary step forward toward everyone else.

The rope pulled Jounouchi away, and it took a second for the blonde to realize that Kaiba was on the other end. The CEO dragged Jounouchi to safety. Once that was finished, Yami's light protruded out his body and lashed directly on Takeo and his men like a beam.

They cried out. Takeo's voice was the loudest. When the light stopped, Jounouchi was expecting them to fall face down on the floor. Instead, everyone was left spouting out nonsense. Takeo himself was holding onto one of his minions, tenderly kissing him and calling him Katsuya.

Yami had driven them insane. And Takeo had already been unhinged enough to start with. But he was grateful as this meant that Takeo would no longer bother him.

Jounouchi barely registered Kaiba untying him. As the knots unfolded, Jounouchi found himself staring into Kaiba's eyes. He hadn't noticed before, but his blue eyes reminded him of the sea that he once viewed as a child with his sister.

"Let's get going," Kaiba stated simply, "I'm not about to be late for the tournament."

Kaiba took out his cell phone and dialed someone to pick him up. Jounouchi didn't know what to say to the CEO. He wanted to thank him for all he had done, but he didn't think he could express how grateful he was to him.

Gratitude wasn't the only emotion Jounouchi was feeling. There was a sort of warm sensation stirring in his chest. Jounouchi felt his face to see if it was warm and he silently prayed that he wasn't blushing. Luckily, neither Yami nor Kaiba seemed to notice.

As a matter of fact, Yami was still focusing all his attention on the puzzle, holding it delicately and whispering comforting words to it.

"Is Yugi okay?" Jounouchi asked carefully.

The other male stopped short. From the way Yami looked at him, it was clear that he had forgotten all about Jounouchi being here. Jounouchi didn't take offense to this.

Yami nodded.

"He will be."

"Maybe you should let him out? I can talk to him?" Jounouchi offered.

Yami shook his head stubbornly. Jounouchi was almost ready to punch him. Even after what just happened, Yami still believed that he could keep Yugi safe by trapping him in the puzzle.

But Jounouchi didn't get onto him. Yami seemed way too shaken up to deal with any more stress at the moment. As a matter of fact, the pharaoh's legs were practically trembling as he walked away. Yami didn't look where he was going and he knocked into the dispenser, causing it to fall over and the top to come off.

Jounouchi blinked. There was some sort of weird device inside that he wasn't familiar with. It looked too complicated for a simple dispenser to need. Yami cursed.

"I knew it. Takeo tried to make sure he had all the good monsters to himself. I've seen this before."

"Hold the phone, Yami," Jounouchi went over to his friend, "You're saying that he cheated, but Kaiba got some good monsters anyway."

Yami smiled.

"He believed in the monsters. You know how important that is, Jounouchi-kun."

The blonde stared at the machine in awe.

"Yeah but…I didn't think it was that powerful."

"Of course. Having faith in your monsters is one of the most important things in the world."

"Almost as important as trusting your friends?" Jounouchi said without thinking.

This caused Yami's grin to come crashing down to a scowl. They both knew what Jounouchi was getting at.

"I trusted Yugi before this tournament."

"You should give him another chance. I agree he shouldn't have left the puzzle, but—"

Kaiba's voice interrupted the two.

"Come on. It's time to leave. I've called someone to take these losers away and frankly, I'd like to get to the competition before we're disqualified."

Yami took that moment to get out of talking to Jounouchi. They all took the limo. Jounouchi felt awkward about sitting right next to Kaiba.

"Hey, Kaiba."

The CEO didn't respond, but Jounouchi knew he was listening.

"Look. Thanks for helping me back there."

"Spare me your friendship speech, mutt," Kaiba scoffed.

Jounouchi knew he was just being defensive, so he didn't take the words to heart. This caused the CEO to look at him curiously.

"Huh. I thought for sure that would get you to bark. Aren't you going to say how you're not a dog?"

"Don't really feel like it," Jounouchi said, "I guess I'm just too happy about getting rid of Takeo to get angry."

Kaiba smirked.

"I suppose you should take advantage of being happy now. Remember that our bet is still on."

Jounouchi did a double take. No way! Kaiba was still going to go through with it.

Jounouchi was wrong. Kaiba wasn't cool at all. The CEO left the limo, leaving a gaping Jounouchi and a confused Yami behind.

* * *

A/n: This is not the last chapter.


	8. Chapter 8

Jounouchi followed Yami to the center of the stage, where a large crowd surrounded them. Even though Jounouchi was used to spectators, he was nervous. No doubt Kaiba was already fantasizing about beating Yugi in front of all these people.

Anzu and Honda were sitting in the crowd. Yami smiled at them. Anzu caught his gaze but did not smile back. Instead she glowered at him, then turned her head away in a huff.

Jounouchi leaned into the pharaoh's ear.

"I think she's still upset."

Yami said nothing. Jounouchi noticed Ryou sitting by Honda. He smiled at his white-haired friend.

The announcer's voice boomed over the intercom.

"Now. Seto Kaiba will compete against….Katsuya Jounouchi!"

A few minutes later, Jounouchi was at the field, facing the CEO. The duel area was a holographic room, meaning that certain monsters would get a bonus point. Jounouchi smiled when he saw holographic torches. If he edged his fire monsters close to those, they would get a power up.

"Alright. I call the Flame Swordsman to the first torchlight."

His level four monster did as his master instructed. The torchlight flickered, then the warrior's attack power rose by ten percent. This caused Jounouchi to smile like a child at a candy store. Kaiba was going to have a hard time beating the Flame Swordsman now. His grin fell when he noticed that Kaiba's smug smile.

"A rookie mistake already? Why am I not surprised?"

"What! How can I mess up already?" Jounouchi demanded.

Kaiba pointed at one of his monsters.

"Rude Kaiser! Go in front of Flame Swordsman."

If that monster attacked right now, his Swordsman would still be able to survive. And because of the torchlight, his monster would be strong enough to finish off Rude Kaiser.

There was no way that Kaiba overlooked something so simple. What was the smug bastard up to?

"White Dolphin, use Water Blast."

Jounouchi did a double-take.

"What? But my monster's not in range."

"Who says I'm aiming for that monster?" Kaiba retorted.

The floating dolphin sprayed water on the torch, dousing the flame in one blast. Jounouchi cursed as both the Flame Swordsman's attack and defense reduced.

"Now Rude Kaiser! Destroy it."

The monster wielded its scythes and slashed into the swordsman's chest. Jounouchi was already down one monster. Kaiba laughed.

"That was too easy. Why don't you give up now?" his smirk earned him a glare from the blonde.

"In your dreams."

They continued for a while with Jounouchi taking down some of Kaiba's monsters. Kaiba took down more of his. Soon all Jounouchi had left was his Red Eyes. Kaiba still had three monsters, including his Blue Eyes.

Jounouchi's friends were glancing at the blonde in concern. Kaiba laughed like this duel was the funniest thing in the world. He was really starting to grate on Jounouchi's nerves.

"There's no way you can beat me. Why you thought you ever had a chance, I'll never know. Now everyone will see what a fool you are and no one will be stupid enough to fall for you again."

That was a low blow. Even Mokuba, who was listening on the sides, frowned at his brother. That was saying something, since the kid normally turned a blind eye whenever Kaiba said something cruel.

"Ni-chan, that's not…"

Jounouchi's eyes flashed in rage. A thought struck him when he looked at all the remaining torchlights.

"Red Eyes. Knock down all the torchlights!"

This time it was Kaiba's turn to get caught off guard.

"What?"

The dragon did as planned, knocking them over one by one with its power. Soon, there was nothing illuminating the stage, making the field go into total darkness. The Blue Eyes was a Light monster and the Red Eyes was Dark.

From the small light filtering Kaiba's way, Jounouchi could clearly see the brunette scowl.

"This won't save you from defeat."

"No. But at least I can shut you up for once and get rid of your favorite monster. Red Eyes, attack!"

The black dragon just barely managed to destroy its opponent with the power up. Blue Eyes cried in agony, then disappeared. It had been defeated. Now it was Kaiba's turn, but the CEO was in too much shock to move. Finally, Kaiba recovered enough to turn to his remaining monsters.

"Finish it!"

The other two monsters went in for the kill, destroying the Red Eyes with their combined strength.

"The winner of the match: Seto Kaiba," the announcer stated.

But the announcer's declaration of his victory didn't appease Kaiba. The brunette glared harshly at Jounouchi. Jounouchi couldn't hear what he was mumbling but he could read his lips.

 _Just wait until you're mine._

Uh oh. Kaiba was going to make him pay for destroying his favorite monster. Maybe it would've been better to keep the CEO in a good mood.

Enough was enough. Jounouchi had to get Yugi back. He rushed into the back room in hopes of finding Bakura somewhere. As luck would have it, he found him instantly. And for once, he was happy to note that it was Yami Bakura he had found. The thief laughed.

"That little lover spat of yours was just too funny. I bet the little billionaire is going to make you sleep on the couch tonight."

"What the heck are you talking about? You know what? Never mind. I don't think I want to know," Jounouchi sighed.

Bakura's eyes narrowed as they leered at something behind Jounouchi. Jounouchi didn't have to turn around to know who it was. Yami was the only person who stomped like that whenever he saw the Thief King.

"What are you doing out here, Tomb Raider?"

Bakura caught Jounouchi's eye and smiled before glancing back at the pharaoh.

"Last I checked, I'm well within my rights to see a simple duel."

"That can't be all you're doing," Yami argued bitterly, "Even if that were so, you're doing more harm than good being out here."

"Oh really?"

"Yes, really. Your hikari may have other things he needs to do. And you trapped him in that ring."

"Well look at the pot calling the kettle black."

Yami stopped short. The silence was just long enough to show that he was caught off guard.

"What's that supposed to mean?" his voice was low and dangerous, almost a growl.

"I mean what about your little one? Isn't he about ready to leave that puzzle? How else can he defeat Kaiba and win that bet?"

Jounouchi was the one shocked this time. How did Bakura know about the bet? Unless Ryou told his yami about it. Ryou never acted like he was on speaking terms with his yami, but maybe they're closer to each other than Jounouchi first thought.

"That is none of your concern," Yami spat out.

"Well, you're the one who's preaching about how to treat your hikari right. So why shouldn't I point out your flaws? I'm sure your little light hates you. Isn't that such a shame?"

Jounouchi took that moment to step in. Bakura was going way too far.

"Hey. That's not—"

Yami interrupted before Jounouchi could say anything.

"He does not! He loves me more than Ryou likes you."

When Bakura glared, Jounouchi knew that they were about to have a yami catfight on their hands. Bakura sneered.

"Oh really? And tell me, why would he hate me? I, at least, let him out from time to time. You don't even do that much for Yugi."

Yami took a step forward as well.

"If you don't do everything in your power to protect Ryou, then of course he'll hate you. You're very irresponsible to let Ryou go out on his own."

"How dare you?" a glint of rage flashed through Bakura's eyes.

Jounouchi couldn't keep his mouth shut any longer. Yami was going too far, even for him.

"What the hell, Yam? Is that how you really see Yugi?"

The pharaoh blinked as if waking up from a dream. He turned to look at his blonde friend glaring at him.

"I mean," Jounouchi continued, "He's your partner, not your baby. Stop acting like he's going to collapse the moment you let him out."

Yami glared with the sting of betrayal in his hard amethyst eyes.

"So, it's true. You hold the same opinion as Honda-kun."

"Of course I do. This is nuts, Yami. Let him out."

Yami looked ready to send Jounouchi to the Shadow Realm. Jounouchi thanked his lucky stars that the pharaoh managed to hold himself back.

"How dare you? You just want Yugi out so you can win the bet."

The words stung. That wasn't true and Yami should know that more than anybody. Bakura chuckled darkly.

"You're about to lose all your friends, pharaoh. And your little hikari too."

"Yugi will not leave the puzzle," the eye symbol glowed on Yami's head to show his point, "Stay out of my way."

His anger was getting out of control. Instead of being afraid like he should have been, Bakura laughed.

"So, this is how it's going to be? You're going to keep your little whore on such a short leash."

"Don't you call him—"

"Well, what else is he?" Bakura retorted with a sneer, "You treat him like a possession. You're afraid that if you let him out for even a second, he'll get himself hurt."

"Silence, Thief!"

"Or what? You'll get your courtly guards to come after me? I think you'll find that they're not available at the moment. They haven't been available in thousands of years."

Yami's scowl was deeper. He looked close to crushing Bakura's mind, making Jounouchi realize that this idea might've not been such a good one after all.

He got in between the two and looked at Yami.

"Hey. Before you go crushing minds, remember that this guy is sharing Ryou's body."

Yami aimed his glare at Jounouchi. He took in a deep breath.

"My duel with Kaiba is coming up."

Jounouchi sighed.

"Go ahead then. But don't think you're getting away that easily. We're going to get you to let Yugi go. I don't care how long it takes us. We'll convince you that Yugi's not weak."

Yami opened his mouth as if to argue, but he snapped it shut at the last minute. Without another word, he walked away. Jounouchi watched him go until he was out of sight.

"Well, that was pointless," Bakura spoke behind him.

A flash of white light shone from behind Jounouchi. The curious blonde turned to see that Ryou had taken control.

"I don't know what you wanted my yami to do, but I think he's done all he could."

Jounouchi offered a smile at his friend. Ryou was much more tolerable than his evil side, so he was happy to see him.

"Thanks for your help."

"It wasn't me. It was my yami," Ryou suddenly looked nervous, "I'm sorry about Yugi's yami. He's going to ruin the bet for you."

"I have no one else to blame but myself," Jounouchi closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, "I just hope Kaiba will go easy on me. Probably not, though."

Ryou led Jounouchi to his seat. The blonde sat down next to Honda when he noticed that Anzu was missing. He asked Honda about this.

"Did she go to the bathroom or something?"

Ryou looked flushed.

"Jounouchi-kun! That's vulgar."

Honda crossed his arms with a frown.

"How are you and that other Bakura related? Anyway. I don't know where she went."

"Bakura's not related to me," but Ryou was cut off by Honda leaning forward with a shocked look on his face.

"Oh my god."

Jounouchi blinked, then looked at what he was gazing at. His world nearly turned upside down.

Yugi! He was finally out of the puzzle. Did Bakura's words get through after all? Or was it..

Anzu came back with a smile on her face.

"Isn't it great? Yami finally snapped out of it."

Jounouchi could kiss her.

At the center of the stage, Kaiba leered at his smaller opponent.

"So you're actually going to duel me after all? You better not get help from that spirit. Remember the deal, Motou."

Kaiba's blue eyes darted in Jounouchi's direction. The way they leered at him practically told him that Jounouchi would be punished for destroying his Blue Eyes.

Jounouchi gulped.


	9. Chapter 9

"I'll have my Dark Magician go to the river," Yugi declared.

The mage glided to where his master directed him. Looking at it hovering in the air, Jounouchi began to wonder if the monsters were ever confused having two masters. Surely they were aware that Yami and Yugi were two different people. By now, it was no longer a secret for Jounouchi that the monsters were capable of thought. Despite this, they were never confused whether it was Yami or Yugi directing them.

Kaiba pointed his favorite dragon toward the Dark Magician.

"Destroy that amateur magician."

It was really apparent that the Dark Magician could think for itself now, for it glared at Kaiba's insult.

"Not even your Blue Eyes can stop us," said Yugi, boldly.

They battled it out. The duel went on with monsters being destroyed left and right, until all they had left was one monster each. Neither of them had their favorite monster anymore.

Yugi had a Fire monster, while Kaiba had a Water. Jounouchi's heart nearly stopped when he saw the position of the monsters. How would Yugi beat Kaiba now?

"Go five steps forward," Yugi told his Fire monster.

No! That was right in front of the water monster. What the hell was he thinking? Kaiba laughed at this stupid mistake.

"I guess I was right about you. You're nothing without the spirit," Kaiba's chuckling made Jounouchi want to hit him.

Yugi smirked, earning him a confused look from Kaiba. The CEO had stopped laughing.

"You forgot about the boulder," Yugi informed.

There was a giant rock right behind the water monster. Where was Yugi going with this? Jounouchi honestly had no idea. It seemed like Kaiba was in the same boat, if his bewilderment was anything to go by.

"How is a piece of rock going to save you, Motou?"

"Like this," Yugi turned to his monster, "Fire!"

The monster shot out a large flame that aimed past Kaiba's monster and at the base of the boulder. A red glow cut through it like a knife. After the fire ceased, the boulder was left in two pieces. The larger, bigger half slowly tilted, sliding off the residue lava that the bottom half was left with.

The Water monster cried out as the rock plummeted right on top of it. It disappeared with a puff of smoke, signifying that Yugi had won.

"The winner: Yugi Motou!" the announcer declared.

Jounouchi and the others jumped up with a cheer over their friend's victory. Frowning, Kaiba grumbled to himself and left the stadium.

The gang met each other at the front of the building. Jounouchi rushed towards his friend and crushed him in a bear hug. He was too happy to note that Yugi's little legs were thrashing in a silent plea to put him down.

"I knew you were good enough, pal. You sure showed Kaiba."

"Uh, Jounouchi, I can't breathe…"

"Oh," the blonde let his friend back on the ground. Anzu, Honda and Ryou caught up at this point. Anzu hugged the triangle haired teen next, but she wasn't nearly as constricting as Jounouchi had been, so Yugi welcomed it.

"How did you get the pharaoh to let you out? Oh, I don't care. It's just so good to see you again."

"Wait a minute, Anzu. Didn't you say something to him?" Jounouchi asked.

Yugi turned to somebody they couldn't see and nodded. The puzzle around his next bounced and glowed, then Yami appeared before them.

"It was you, Jounouchi-kun."

"….Me?" the blonde dumbly pointed to himself.

"Wow, what did this idiot do to change your mind?" Honda asked.

Jounouchi pointed his fist at the brunette.

"Watch it."

"Cool it, you two," Anzu frowned.

Yami chuckled, "When you stood up to me, I realized that absolutely no one agreed with my methods. That, coupled with everything Yugi told me, finally brought me to my senses."

"I must admit. I'm pretty shocked when you let Yugi out," Anzu confessed.

Yami's grin strained a bit, as if the shame of all his past actions were finally getting to him.

"I'm sorry, everyone. When Yugi was in danger and I couldn't help them, something inside me snapped. I wanted to do whatever it took to make sure that didn't happen again. And yet all my efforts were in vain. As a matter of fact, keeping Yugi inside the puzzle actually brought him more danger than ever before. I was a fool."

Anzu, Ryou and Honda were confused by this. Jounouchi would have to make a mental note to explain what had happened later. Right now, he just wanted to celebrate and not focus on tales that would dampen his mood.

He grabbed Yami's arm.

"Come on, guys. Let's go get some burgers."

"Where do you think you're going?" Kaiba's voice cut through the air.

The gang turned to where the two rich brothers stood. Mokuba stared up at his older sibling with a look of curiosity. Meanwhile, Kaiba stared at Jounouchi like a cat that just caught itself a plump, juicy mouse. Jounouchi had no idea why he looked so smug all of the sudden.

"Not that it's your business, but we're going to celebrate Yug kicking your ass."

Kaiba chuckled.

"I believe we had a deal."

Jounouchi blinked. Anzu took that moment to step in.

"Kaiba, you lost the duel."

The CEO shook his head, his eyes closed in genuine amusement.

"I may have lost the duel, but I've won the bet."

"WHAT!" Jounouchi cried, "What the heck are you yammering about now?"

Shrugging, Kaiba explained without a care in the world, "The deal was that Motou had to win the competition by himself. Without the spirit's help. But the contest had plenty of video footage. And you know what they found? The spirit was in a lot of the duels the second day."

Jounouchi's face paled as he thought about it. That was around the time that Yami had vowed to never let Yugi out again. Yami had ruined the bet for Jounouchi even before Yugi got to face Kaiba.

Oh no! The blonde would've screamed if he could find his voice. Yami flashed him a guilty frown, looking like he wanted to say something but having no way to argue Jounouchi out of this one.

Honda gaped at Jounouchi. The blonde wished that Kaiba would stop looking at him like that.

"Well, come on," Kaiba said.

"Where are you taking me?"

"To do your chores. Unless you're planning on going against your word."

"Jounouchi-kun…" Yugi was out now, but he had just as much to say as Yami.

The blonde refused to look at his friends as he followed Kaiba to the limo. Honda grabbed his shoulder.

"Dude, you're actually going with him."

Kaiba was making sure Mokuba got safely inside the car, but Jounouchi could tell that the teenage CEO was listening in.

Jounouchi sucked in a breath, "You know I don't go back on my word."

"But this is Kaiba. Are you really willing to be his slave for a month?"

Jounouchi glanced at Kaiba, who stared back. The icy blue eyes were so chilling that it was almost like Kaiba was trying to freeze him in place.

Honda was usually someone who teased Jounouchi. Seeing him this concerned reminded Jounouchi of what hole he had dug himself in. This was worse than losing the deal with Otogi. It was even worse than being forced into a dog suit in front of a bunch of cameras. Jounouchi was going to have to do whatever Kaiba said for a month.

The blonde knew that he was going to be dreading these next few weeks. He knew that even when the month was over, Kaiba would try his hardest to scar Jounouchi emotionally, so that he could never live this down. No matter how much time would pass.

They reached the mansion that Jounouchi had grown to hate.

"Go to your room, Mokuba," Kaiba ordered.

The boy pouted, "But I wanted to play with Jounouchi."

Mokuba looked freaking adorable with his puppy eyes. It took Jounouchi aback since he had never seen the boy look so childlike before. Kaiba, however, seemed used to this ploy. He stared at his brother with a deadpan expression.

"To your room, Mokuba."

The younger brother, begrudgingly, left the car. Kaiba smiled at Jounouchi, then motioned him to follow with his finger. It reminded Jounouchi of an owner beckoning his dog to come play.

Jounouchi cussed to himself before willing himself out of the vehicle. He had been to Kaiba's mansion a few times before, but still he was secretly impressed by the grandeur of it. The blonde pretended that it was no big deal, shoving his hands in his pockets and shrugging his shoulders.

Kaiba paused in front of him. The CEO slowly turned around to face him.

"Alright. I sent someone to give you your list. I really hope you can read."

Jounouchi glared, "I'm in the same class as you, right?"

Because he only had to do whatever Kaiba said. That didn't mean he couldn't be a smartass about it. Until, of course, Kaiba ordered him to stop.

"Yeah. I'm surprised you got in. Did your parents offer to buy you a game system or something?"

Jounouchi growled. Crap, now he looked even more like a dog to Kaiba. The sound he made caused the CEO to smile. Jounouchi was getting close to punch this guy's lights out.

"Nope. My dad wouldn't pay anything like that. It would make a dent in the beer budget."

Surprisingly, Kaiba frowned at this.

"Does he drink a lot?"

Jounouchi didn't know why he answered. Maybe it was because Kaiba seemed genuinely concerned for some reason.

"Um…yeah. He's usually pretty drunk. It's a miracle he works at all. That dumbass is going to get himself killed."

 _And eventually leave me starving in the streets._

Jounouchi hated thinking the thought. It was the thought that haunted the back of his mind since he was a small child. At an unconscious level, Jounouchi knew that he and his father were barely making ends meet, and if Jounouchi didn't work at getting his father to his job every day, they would have run out of money a long time ago.

"What's your mother say about this?" Kaiba asked.

Jounouchi shrugged it off. Talking to Kaiba about this seemed unusually easy for him. It was like he was opening up to one of his close friends, like Honda or Yugi.

"We're not on friendly terms."

Kaiba stared at him in disbelief.

"You're not on friendly terms with your mother?"

"She and my dad split up. I think I remind her of him. She took Shizuka and I was stuck with him."

Kaiba looked like he was about to say something else, but a servant came in with a long list. The CEO collected himself.

"Take the list and begin to work."

Jounouchi cursed himself in his head. Of course Kaiba wouldn't go easy on him after one sob story. How stupid was he to spill his guts out on the floor anyway?

The blonde took it, finding the next task increasingly more difficult than the last. He glared at Kaiba.

"Hope you don't expect me to finish in one night, moneybags."

"I'll let you know when you can go home. Just get what you can done. I'll be in my office."

This caught Jounouchi off guard because he had been expecting Kaiba to stay around and ridicule him while he slaved away. Or, at the very least, he expected Kaiba to head to his room and hang out. Did he really have a lot to do?

Jounouchi worked well into the night. By the time he checked the clock, he realized that it was nine. Pissed off, he rushed to Kaiba's office, nearly bumping into the CEO. Kaiba was on his way out when Jounouchi threw open the door. He spoke before Jounouchi could even open his mouth.

"Don't worry. I called your father."

"What?"

"I told him that you can stay the night."

Jounouchi had been angry before, now he was confused. Kaiba checked the time on his phone.

"Here. I'll show you the guest room."

He walked past the blonde, then turned around when he realized that the other wasn't following.

"You coming?"

Jounouchi blinked once, twice. It was a stupid reaction, but he was too numb to do anything else. Kaiba suddenly smiled.

"Come on, puppy."

"I'm not a dog. If I'm spending the night, can you at least lighten up on the insults? I get it alright? You hate my guts. I don't need to be reminded 24/7."

Kaiba frowned at this. The CEO walked toward Jounouchi, causing the confused blonde to back up. This was unexpected. What was even more unexpected was Kaiba cornering him between himself and the wall. Kaiba leaned his head until it was inches away from Jounouchi's face.

The blonde clenched his throat as he stared up into the CEO's eyes. He never admitted it to himself before, but they really were beautiful. Almost like gemstones that gleamed in the smooth desert sand. Jounouchi wondered if the priest that dueled Yami so long ago in the past had the same color eyes.

Surely that was impossible. Jounouchi didn't think anyone else on heaven and earth could replicate such precious orbs.

Huh….he didn't realize he would put so much thought into someone's eyes before.

"I don't."

"…What?" Jounouchi was pulled out of his thoughts. Kaiba smiled, not smirked, smiled.

"I don't hate you. Not really. You know, if I had known that Red Eyes would've destroyed my Blue Eyes, I probably would've thought twice before giving it to you."

It took a second for it to click in Jounouchi's head and when it did, Jounouchi's jaw went slack.

"What? You gave me the Red Eyes? Why?"

Kaiba stared at him like that question was stupid. But amusement accompanied the annoyance on his face, so Jounouchi figured he wasn't too upset.

"Because I like you."

"That's funny. Now tell me the real reason."

With a frown, Kaiba withdrew his head and backed off. Jounouchi pretended that he didn't already miss the close proximity he just had with the other teen.

"It is the real reason, dork. Don't ask why, because I don't even know. But I've known for a long time that I really like you. And when that nut flirted with you…it pissed me off."

Jounouchi felt his face go red.

"You…were jealous?"

"Oh please," Kaiba began to walk away, "Now follow me."

"Hey, Kaiba. Not for nothing but…I like you too. I mean…" Jounouchi felt himself stammering, "I mean if a weird lunatic guy flirted with you, I think I would be jealous too."

Kaiba chucked. The laughter stopped when Jounouchi approached him. The CEO met him half way in a small kiss, both their hearts pounding in their chests. Kaiba grinned beautifully.

"I'm so glad to have my puppy home, Katsuya."

Maybe the rest of the month wouldn't be so bad after all, thought the blonde.

FIN


End file.
